Seat for chairs or stools



Oct. 10, 1950 a. F. HAMILTON SEAT FOR CHAIRS 0R STOOLS Filed Dec. 4,1944 Patented Oct. 10, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SEAT FOR CHAIRSR STOOLS Bertis F. Hamilton, Columbus, Ind.

Application December 4, 1944, Serial No. 566,486

1 Claim. 1 My invention relates tometal furniture and more particularlyto chairs and stools embodying a sheet-metal seat which it is desired tocover with upholstery. It is the object of my invention to produce asimple and eifective means for securing upholstery material to the metalseat of a stool or chair.

In carrying out my invention, I form the seat which is to be upholsteredas a sheet-metal stamping provided with a downwardly directed peripheralflange the lower edge of which is turned inwardly to form a lip. Theupholstery includes a fabric cover having a sleeve-like portion closelyembracing the flange and terminating at its lower end in a hem. Withinthe hem I dispose an open wire ring having a normal diameter greaterthan that of the seat-flange. Such ring, enclosed within the hem, iscollapsed and forced upwardly within the flange to a point above thelip, where it is permitted to expand to draw the upholstery fabric overthe lip-edge.

The accompanying drawing illustrates my invention: Fig. 1 is a sideelevation of a stool; and Fig. 2 is a fragmental side elevation of thestoolseat on an enlarged scale with portions of the constructionillustrated in section.

The stool shown in Fig. 1 comprises an upholstered seat designated inits entirety by the reference numeral l9 and supported by a series ofcircumferentially spaced legs H. A ring l2 secured to the legs i atintermediate points thereof serves to stiffen and strengthen theconstruction.

The seat of the stool is in the form of a sheetmetal stamping 15 havinga downwardly extending peripheral flange IS. The upper surface of thestamping i5 is covered with padding l1, and such padding is in turncovered by a fabric cover l8 having a skirt l9 closely surrounding theflange Hi.

The skirt 19 has a length somewhat greater than the vertical extent ofthe flange 16. Its lower edge is hemmed as indicated at 28, and withinsuch hem there is disposed an expansible ring 2| of steel wire orsimilar elastic material.

The lower edgeof the flange I6 is turned inwardly and desirably upwardlyto form an annular lip 22. unstressed its diameter will be at leastgreater than the internal diameter of the lip 22 and desirably greaterthan the internal diameter of the flange Hi.

In assembling the stool-seat, the padding I1 is placed upon the uppersurface of the sheetstamping I5 and the fabric cover |8-|9 drawn overit. The ring 2| will assist in this operation, as it will maintain theend of the skirt l9 open, When the fabric covering is drawn downwardlyas tightly as desired, the ring 2| is col- The ring 2| is formed sothatwhen skirt.

lapsed and forced through the annular lip 22 to a position thereabove.When released, the ring will expand to overlie the lip 22 and thus holdthe fabric in place on the seat. Desirably, the length of the skirt l9,including the hem 20, is such that the ring 2|, expanding after beingpassed through the lip, will tend to draw the fabric tightly around thelower edge of the seatflange l6. If the skirt is too long, the ring 2|will expand into engagement with the flange l6 above the lip 22, leavingundesirable slack in the On the other hand, if the skirt is too short itwill prevent the ring from being inserted upwardly far enough to permitits expansion above the lip.

In most instances, the ring 2| will expand above the lip 22 until thefabric of the in-turned lower edge of the skirt I9 is clamped betweenthe ring and the inner surface of the flange l6. If desired, thisclamping action alone may be relied upon to hold the lower edge of theskirt in place, and the hem may be dispensed with.

I claim as my invention:

In an article of furniture, a sheet-metal seat having a downwardlyextending peripheral flange, a fabric seat-cover including a skirtsurrounding said flange, the lower end of said skirt extending aroundthe lower edge of said flange and upwardly within the compartmentdefined by said flange and beingprovided with a hem, a spring-metal ringdisposed within said hem, said flange being provided with a lipextending inwardly beneath said ring to prevent its removal from withinthe flange, said ring having a normal diameter greater than the internaldiameter of said flange and being interrupted at one'point in itscircumference to permit it to be collapsed and moved past said lip.

BERTIS F. HAMILTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 512,491 Smith Jan. 9, 1894529,478 Bull Nov. 20, 1894 778,218 Budd Dec. 27, 1904 782,841 FortinerFeb. 21, 1905 1,020,407 Foster Mar. 19, 1912 1,213,674 Maslen Jan. 23,1917 1,243,531 Kohler Oct. 16, 1917 1,525,675 Van Orman Feb. 10, 19251,725,480 Rissrnann Aug. 20, 1929 1,868,269 Beadle July 19, 19322,151,628 Van Derveer Mar. 21, 1939 2,361,370 Grunwald Oct. 31, 1944

